World Down Syndrome Day

World Down Syndrome Day – annually on March 21st – is officially ratified by the United Nations. It allows communities around the world to recognize and celebrate contributions from people with Down syndrome.

Our VATTA members are located in different places throughout the country (Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia). If you’re interested in having a VATTA member speak at your event, contact Carlee Reardon

Set up a display or information booth! Do this at your local mall, school or library.

Down Syndrome Conference

Dance On 3/21

What’s the best way to break up your day? Get up and dance! We want to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day and get Canadians moving! Join the Canadian Down Syndrome Society on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 and have a dance party – Dance On 3/21! Show Canadians and the rest of the world YOUR inclusive workforce, school, or class. Show Canadians your supportive family, friends, or community. Show everyone that YOU #SeeTheAbility!

Sometime during the day, stop what you’re doing and have a quick dance with your class, your school, or your work. It can be any length – a minute, 3 minutes and 21 seconds, or an hour! Film it on your phone and email it to us, tweet it to us or post it on our Facebook wall and use the hashtags #SeeTheAbility and #WorldDownSyndromeDay.

You can also send it to us early – we’ll use your video to promote the initiative and get people excited about World Down Syndrome Day!

Dance On 3/21 is inspired by our own Paul Sawka, Awareness Leader at CDSS. Every day, the CDSS team in Calgary stops what we’re doing for five minutes to do something active – we do planks, wall-sits, or jumping jacks. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Paul leads the staff in a three minute dance party. It’s a great part of the day that CDSS would like to share with all of you!

Dance On 3/21 Tips and Ideas!

Choose a song that gets you moving! In the CDSS office, we dance to everything from new songs, to old, from Broadway to rock!

Dance for as long as you want to! We keep it down to just one song in the CDSS office – but you can have a full dance party if you like!

Take the video on your phone! That way you can easily email it to us or post it on social media! (Use #SeeTheAbility to make sure we see it!)

Fundraise and dance! Dance On 3/21 is a great way to fundraise for CDSS – ask everyone who wants to participate to donate a dollar or more. For more information about fundraising for WDSD, email Carlee.

Spread the word! Download the posters below and post them around your school, work and community!

Can’t get together on March 21? Do it beforehand and email it to us early or just post the video on the date!